Some none-too-subtle damage control on the part of Marvel, which — after this weekend’s story about editing issues — has decided to leak to THR the supposed runtime for “Avengers: Doomsday,” which has its tickets going on sale July 20.
The film is reportedly 2 hours and 46 minutes. However, there’s a catch. The reporting goes on to state that “final cut is unlikely to be locked this far in advance.” THR frames it as “not final,” a placeholder, if you will.
At least we now know the length Marvel is aiming for. At 166 minutes, the film would be longer than 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” (149 minutes) but shorter than 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” (181 minutes). Summarily, it would still be the second-longest film in the entire MCU, after “Avengers: Endgame” and right in front of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (161 minutes).
As for plot details concerning ‘Doomsday,’ save for rumors, nobody knows much. A full-length trailer has yet to be released, but one is reportedly supposed to premiere at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25. Meanwhile, the other blockbuster film that’s set to open on the same day as ‘Doomsday,’ “Dune: Part Three,” has already had two trailers released.
Marvel will have to pull out all the stops to promote ‘Doomsday’ and prevent what is reportedly a $400M+ production from becoming a commercial disappointment. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and the Fox-era X-Men — they’re all being pulled out for a full-blown nostalgia play.
To give some perspective: “Avengers: Endgame” cost $356M to make. ‘Doomsday’ already has $105M publicly accounted for — $40M for the Russos, $50M for Robert Downey Jr., and $15M for Chris Hemsworth. With the avalanche of names reportedly attached, and the fact that these ‘Avengers’ movies tend to be VFX bonanzas, that $400M figure doesn’t seem so ludicrous.
For now, the official cast for ‘Doomsday’ seems to include Robert Downey Jr, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss Bacharach, Joseph Quinn, Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Simu Liu, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Tenoch Huerta, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John, Lewis Pullman, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, Kelsey Grammer, Chris Evans, Hayely Atwell, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ryan Reynolds.
“Avengers: Doomsday” is set for theatrical release on December 18.
I briefly mentioned Ben Affleck's "Animals" yesterday, but I need to get more into it, because this thing, now streaming on Netflix, is one of the most baffling efforts I've seen from a serious director in a long time.